Tampa, Florida (June 23, 2000)—The 28th
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) voted this morning
to accept the finding of its Bills & Overtures (B&O) Committee and
commit the petitions for original jurisdiction over the Rev. John Wood to the
Standing Judicial Commission (SJC) for adjudication.The vote to approve this action was overwhelmingly in favor.

This action came after the dramatic
adoption last evening of the B&O recommendation that the Assembly should
find the overtures from four presbyteries—Ascension, Calvary, James River, and
Western Carolina—as having been timely-filed.When the court last night adopted the Committee’s motion, it essentially
rejected the action by the SJC in ruling the matter with respect to Mr. Wood
out of order; as well as the advice of the Committee on Constitutional Business
(CCB).

The motion that was brought this morning
followed a late-night meeting of the B&O Committee.That body recommended that the SJC proceed
according to Book of Church Order (BCO) 31-2.That paragraph prescribes an investigation to determine if there “a
strong presumption of the guilt” of the accused; if there is a strong
presumption of guilt, then the court must proceed to trial.

Even this proposal was not adopted
without a fight.The Rev. Craig Childs,
a member of the CCB and of the B&O Committee, moved that the General
Assembly refer the overtures to the SJC to assemble the record of the case and determine
if Tennessee Valley Presbytery (TVP) had acted; if the SJC determined that TVP
had indeed acted, then the case would be ruled administratively out of order.Dr. Childs argued for his amendment by
claiming he is afraid that the invoking of original jurisdiction is “going to
invite the ‘big brother’ dynamic,” as he warned, “You’re going to have many
more cases.”

The Rev. Don Clements supported the
amendment, while at the same time saying, “But, gentlemen, do not be fearful to
follow [BCO] 34-1.”

Countering the amendment was the Rev.
David Coffin.The Fairfax, Va., pastor
said that it was “not just any action of a presbytery” that would be brought to
the purview of the General Assembly by means of invoking original jurisdiction
over a minister, and that the fact that two presbyteries would have to concur
was sufficient safeguard.He reminded
the court that “the Assembly at this time was not sympathetic to the SJC’s
view.”

An officer of the SJC, the Rev. Robert
Ferguson, surprised many observers by rising to state, simply: “I actually
stand in support of David Coffin.”

Chaplain Thomas Eddy, a member of the
B&O Committee, argued for his committee’s recommendation.He reasoned, “If we don’t agree with
B&O, then the good name of John Wood will not be restored.”

B&O Chairman Dan Carrell summarized
his committee’s position this way: “It is our judgment . . . that our
preliminary hearing should center not on Tennessee Valley’s action, but on the
substance, that is, what John Wood has or has not done.”The Assembly, overwhelmingly, agreed, as it
voted down the amendment and approved the B&O recommendation.

Mr. John White, SJC Chairman, shortly
thereafter indicated that the Commission would indeed be taking up the matter.

GA Votes Down Overtures Opposing PINS

Tampa, Florida (June 23, 2000)—The
Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) General Assembly this morning defeated two
overtures which opposed Presbyterian
& Reformed News.The votes in
both cases were overwhelmingly in favor of the recommendations from the Bills
& Overtures (B&O) Committee.

A minority report regarding the overture
from North Florida Presbytery was presented by the Rev. Stephen Estock, a
member of Southeast Alabama Presbytery.He argued that the minority presentation would “strike a better balance—to
respect both the independent press, and matters raised by North Florida.”The minority recommendation would have
recognized the importance of an independent press, while at the same time
encouraging North Florida Presbytery to pursue judicially the allegations of
wrong-doing by the editorial staff.

But the Rev. Gary Engelstad of New
Jersey Presbytery said, “I don’t think it’s appropriate to encourage anyone to
go to the courts.”He urged that the
brethren concerned follow Matthew 18.

Although there was no minority report
regarding the overture from Southeast Alabama Presbytery, an attempt was made
from the floor to amend the committee recommendation.The Rev. Chris Labs of Susquehanna Valley Presbytery proposed a
substitute that would have said that the General Assembly “appeals to ruling
and teaching elders in the press to use temperate language which guards the
peace and purity of the church and that they protect the reputations of the
people they cover.”

But the Rev. Mike Ericson of Central
Carolina Presbytery argued that “to adopt this would be to imply that
intemperate langauge was used.”

The Rev. Lea Clowers of First
Presbyterian Church, Chattanooga, Tennessee, spoke in favor of the
amendment.“Gossip, no matter how
nicely stated . . ., is still gossip.”

Ruling Elder Andrew Webb from
Philadelphia Presbytery argued against the motion from the floor, and cited four
points.The first point was “our
history.”The PCA was born out of the
Southern Presbyterian Journal, and its journalism was railed against by the
denominational establishment.The second
was the “sunshine issue.”“We believe
in total depravity,” the seminary student averred, and therefore there needed
to be a check on those exercising power.The third point was the “Biblical witness.”Here he cited the Apostle Paul saying, with regard to Chloe, that
“it was reported” that something had occurrred.This therefore marks an instance of something that was outside
the church courts, with which the Apostle was concerning himself.The final point was the “freedom of the
press issue.”

Also speaking against the amendment was
the Rev. Lewis Ruff of Northern California Presbytery.He stated that “I have gone to the
individual in question” when he was concerned about a matter which had been
reported in the newspaper.“I don’t
support the motion, because I don’t think that’s the way to deal with this
matter.”

B&O Chairman Dan Carrel summed up
the Committee’s position by saying that “both overtures have achieved a very
valuable purpose, namely, to open the door of communication.”The Assembly overwhelmingly defeated the
substitute, and adopted the main motion.

GA Approves Amendment Which Would Explicitly Prohibit Women Preaching

Tampa, Florida (June 23, 2000)—The 28th
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) this morning voted
to adopt an amendment to the Book of
Church Order (BCO) which would
explicitly prohibit women preaching.The final vote in favor was approved overwhelmingly, with only a
scattering of “no” votes.

The amendment was one of two which
presbyteries had sent up to the General Assembly, as a result of the recent
controversy over women preaching in the PCA.The proposal which was adopted came from Potomac Presbytery; it seeks to
amend BCO chapter 12, dealing with
the duties and authority of local sessions.

The language which is to be added would
state that sessions are “to encourage the women of the church to hold meetings
and give instruction appropriate to their calling (e.g. Titus 2:3-5), while
prohibiting women from expounding and preaching the Word of God as an ordinance
of public worship (cf. BCO 4-4;
53-2), as this is clearly forbidden in Scripture (I Tim. 2:11-12).”

Not adopted was an overture from
Mississippi Valley Presbytery, which would have amended the Directory for
Worship portion of the BCO. Given the
ambiguous status of the Directory for Worship in the PCA, the Bills &
Overtures (B&O) Committee adjudged the Potomac route to be superior to that
of Mississippi Valley.

The B&O recommendation did not pass
without an attempt to amend the language.The Rev. Fred Mau, a member of the Committee, moved from the floor that
the words “expounding and” be deleted, and that the words “in a sermon” be
added after “preaching the Word of God.”

The Rev. David Coffin from Potomac
Presbytery and a member of the B&O Committee explained that the use of the
terminology “expounding and preaching” was deliberate, in that it paralleled the
language of BCO 4-4. Constitutionally, the terms “expounding and preaching” are
intended “to refer both materially and formally” to the act of proclaiming the
Word.

That explanation led the Rev. Harry Long
to argue for the amendment to the motion: “We’ve got experts here [in the
Assembly], and we had to have David Coffin explain to us the language.”Also speaking in favor of changing the
proposed amendment was Dr. Frank Brock, who said that the discussion “is
beginning to sound like the debate in Tennessee Valley Presbytery.”Warning that this was a “potentially
divisive issue,” the Covenant College President then tried to move that the
motion be referred to the Committee on Constitutional Business.The Moderator, however, ruled that since the
gentleman had already spoken to the matter, he could not make a motion.

Others argued against the Mau
amendment.Dwight Dolby of Southwest
Florida Presbytery contended that “one
of the possibilities is that of a women reading and expositing Scripture, which
would not be protected against” if the language was modified.

The Rev. Zach Eswine from Great Lakes
Presbytery stated that Mr. Mau’s motion “implies that preaching can take place
outside of a sermon.”Ruling Elder
Andrew Webb from Philadelphia Presbytery noted that “we’re talking about women
in worship,” as he countered the notion that any exposition of Scripture would
be prohibited to women; he added that the Potomac proposal was entirely
consonant with the action already taken by the Assembly with regard to the
Mission to North America Committee, in which women speaking during public
worship was forbidden.And the Rev. Tom
Vanden Heuvel, who transferred into the PCA from the Christian Reformed Church
(CRC) in 1997, said that “in the CRC, it didn’t take long for women not only to
expound, but also to preach.”

The Mau amendment lost,
overwhelmingly.The Assembly then voted
for the B&O recommendation.

Having been adopted by the Assembly, the
amendment to the BCO now goes to the
presbyteries for ratification; if two-thirds of the sixty presbyteries give
their consent, the subsequent Assembly must also approve by majority vote
before the new language would become part of the Constitution.

In Other Action . . .

The General Assembly . . .

*Voted to amend
the BCO so as to refine the
definition of “counsel” allowed to an accused in a trial.The proposed amendment will allow a
defendant to employ any communicant member of the PCA to represent him at any stage
of the judicial process, rather than being bound by more-restrictive parameters.

*Voted down an
overture to make the Directory for Worship fully Constitutional.

*Voted down two
personal resolutions from Ruling Elder Bob Miller of Philadelphia Presbytery, dealing
with abortion and women in combat.The
reasoning of the B&O Committee is that the Assembly has already addressed
the various civil magistrates with regard to abortion; and that the Assembly
should wait for the report of its ad hoc committee on women in the military
before making any pronouncements or judgments.

*Accepted the
explanation of Southern Florida Presbytery that it would not employ women to
read Scripture or lead in prayer in public worship.The Presbytery issued that statement in response to the exception
that had been taken to its minutes by the 1997 General Assembly.